A standard ground shipment exporting from the United States to Canada is one of the smoothest export transactions one can undertake. Here is how it works:
Upon receipt of the international customs documentation, EA Logistics works directly with our carriers to pre-arrange the customs clearance of your cargo.
There are two customs documents typically involved. The first (a requirement) is a commercial invoice (CI), which lists the value and description of the goods. The second, (which is not required) is the NAFTA Certificate of Origin, which applies only to products manufactured in North America. The purpose of the NAFTA document is to speed border clearance when the goods are produced in one of the three NAFTA countries (USA, Mexico, and Canada).
EA Logistics tenders these customs documents and cargo to our Canadian carrier who works directly with the consignee’s customs broker to so the broker can arrange a PARS clearance.
This process only applies to shipments that move northbound via ground and clear at the border. PARS is an electronic clearance system with a barcode component. First, the CI is submitted to Canadian customs by the import broker, usually, before the cargo departs the USA hub. A bar code number is then assigned to the CI. The cargo is given the same barcode as the CI, and the cargo is checked at the border against the electronic record. If everything matches up, the shipment is cleared and ready for delivery.
If a PARS clearance cannot be arranged for a shipment, the shipment can cross the Canadian border in bond. This means the shipment has not cleared customs yet and the carrier will move the shipment to a customs bonded terminal nearest to the final delivery location. After the shipment arrives at the customs bonded terminal, the broker must complete the customs clearance before final delivery can be made.
EA provides a complete menu of door-to-door transport and warehousing services to, from and within Canada.